If the CEO sits in the hot seat, the CFO’s chair is positively smoking. According to analysis conducted by the CFO Executive Board, annual CFO turnover at the largest 162 global companies between 1995 and 2003 was 17%—even higher than for CEOs—and three out of four current Fortune 500 finance officers have been in their positions less than five years. And Sarbanes-Oxley is expected to accelerate that turnover, as more CFOs are dismissed for failing to prevent material controls weaknesses or else throw in the towel out of frustration. (The full study, Improving CFO Personal Effectiveness, is available at www.cfo.executiveboard.com.)
A version of this article appeared in the November 2005 issue of Harvard Business Review.
